David Sheldon lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina. A multi-disciplined artist, his work has evolved over the years as both a painter and a sculptor. Sheldon received a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1984. His time at RISD included a formative year spent painting in Rome, Italy, as part of RISD’s European Honors Program. As a grad student, he brought sculpture into the mix. His thesis show for his MFA in 1990 at the University of Maryland incorporated large-scale, mixed-media paintings, as well as sculptural works. Mentors included internationally acclaimed sculptor, Anne Truitt, and monumental sculptor James Sanborn. Sheldon worked as an assistant to Sanborn on 'Kryptos' , installed at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, 1990. Sheldon continues to create cutting-edge sculptural works in metal, as well as provocative public art. Modernist sculpture, with its emphasis on the dynamics of form and space, continues to be a major influence in his work. Though, his works may look mathematical and conceptual in nature, Sheldon works intuitively and emotively, exploring what it means to inhabit three-dimensional space with conscious presence and expression. “It’s very satisfying to be able to use my vision as an artist in contributing something both beautiful and stimulating to a community in the public realm, as well as enrich any space, both public and private. Having lived in the Western North Carolina mountains for many years now, I draw from the power and majesty of the mountains, the star-filled skies at night, and a sense that one is connected, in some way, to this vast, mysterious Universe we live in.” His 'Skyworks' series of sculpture are created with what he calls a 'NASA aesthetic', and express his lifelong fascination with Humanity's relation to the Cosmos. Sheldon’s abstract and landscape painting approach follows the Modernist example of letting ‘paint be paint’, with a strong, expressive, impasto approach inspired by heroes such as Joan Mitchell and Vincent Van Gogh. His landscape paintings express deeply personal experiences in Nature. He paints what he calls ‘ecstatic moments', focusing on the play between sunlight, color and form in space. His recent abstractions of 'paintings of paintings' takes the notion of 'pure creation' to another level. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s really no way to depict the sublime reality of Nature with a traditional painting approach, so I don’t even try. But one can still create a painting that is a compelling experience, in its own right, by expressing, through the paint, the artist’s direct experience of Nature (both inner and outer)- and that’s what I try to do”.